Remembering a Mockingjay
by ListenToTheWind
Summary: Jasmine loves her sister. So she doesn't know how to cope with out her. Rue's sister's experience watching Rue die. One-shot


**Hey guys! This is just a short little one shot about rue's sister, mostly watching her die. If you have not read catching fire, the epilogue will not really make sense. I don't think it spoils it, but you probably won't get it.**

I love my big sister. She is everything to me. She is my hero, my savior, and my best friend. When she was chosen for the Hunger Games, she did not cry. She did not break down. She was strong.

Not like me.

I remember the reaping like it was moments ago. I was standing with my other siblings, all except Rue, who was somewhere in the throng of eligible Hunger Games contestants. In front of me, Kalyen and Tansy, the twins, were arguing. That was nothing different. I held Mona's hand, while she went on about everything, from the color of the sky, to what we would have for dinner tonight. Mama was holding Aster, while he fingered locks of her pretty brown hair.

Mona kept me occupied while a man who looked to be about in his mid thirties was speaking. Over his shoulder, I could see the mayor looking grim. Finally, it was time to get down to business. Mona still chattering into my ear, I watched the man pull a slip of paper from a big, glass ball.

I saw his lips moving. Time seemed to slow down. Mama's face went sheet white, and she was trembling. In disbelief? Fury? Sorrow? Mama let out an anguished cry, which, of course, set Aster off. No one was paying attention to him. All eyes were on Rue, my Rue, my big sister, as she pushed through the crowd.

I went to visit my sister alone that night, after my other family had left. She pressed her lips against my forehead, and we cried together. I think I was the one that made her the saddest. She knew the others wouldn't really understand what was happening, not like I would.

"You're the big sister now, Jasmine, you have to take care of them." She told me, wiping a tear from my cheek.

"No," I murmured. "You're still the big sister. We'll be waiting for you to come home." Suddenly, I didn't want to be the second oldest. I wanted to be little, like Aster, who doesn't know what is happening, or Mona, who probably has a sense that something bad is happening, but thinks that tomorrow, when she wakes up, everything will be back to normal.

For a while after that, we just sit in silence. I wanted to stay with her forever, to hold her hand through everything. Eventually, though, the guards came to usher me out. We hugged, and she whispered into my ear one last heart felt thing.

"Remember me."

Now, we watch her on our tiny television set. There is lots of static, and the screen is small, but none of us want to risk seeing it in public incase something… unsettling happens. I try to take care of the other kids, like Rue asked of me. All of them are beginning to understand what has happened to Rue. None of them like it.

Mama is in a state. She is glued in front of the TV, and hardly pays attention to us. So I play with Mona, keep the twins from tearing each other to pieces, and find food for all of us.

I am outside in front of the house when I hear it. An antagonized scream. I recognize as Mama's voice. I sprint into the house, to find her planted in front of the screen. I study Mama to see what is wrong, when I look at the TV, where I see my worst nightmares come to life.

Rue is on her side. And stuck firmly in her stomach is a spear.

I am grateful that the others are not here to see this. Even if they did not completely understand this, they would be distraught.

I am distraught as well as I watch my sister. She is fading, and even I can tell that she will not recover. I watch as she and the fire girl, District Twelve, talk. Why is District Twelve, Katniss, I think her name is, staying with Rue? I know they were allies, but this game is about defeating your opponents. And in the long run, Rue is just another tribute down.

"You have to win," Rue whispers to Katniss.

_"No, Rue!" _I want to shout. _"You have to win!"_

I wish I could be there for Rue, during her last moments. It does not surprise me when Rue asks Katniss to sing for her. Rue loves music. She can brighten up any situation with one of her songs. I am shocked by District Twelve's voice- it is lovely. By the look on her face, Rue thinks so too. She looks blissfully calm for someone who must be in a lot of pain.

Rue looks almost happy. I see a faint smile traced on her lips. At least she will die at peace with the world. That is more than most can ask.

Katniss' song ends. Rue is nearly gone. I want to be there with her, to shake her shoulders and yell at her. _"Stop, come back!" _I want to say.

I feel my face, numb from the tears that are stinging it. Rue can't die. She can't.

As Rue's eyes close, for the final time, mine have never been wider.

I feel my moms arms around my neck, and my world comes to an abrupt halt. Because without my best friend, my sister, it is hard to find something to keep going for.

**Epilogue:**

Time has passed since my sister's death. I have taken up my sister's job in the orchards, Mona turned five, Aster said his first few words. How long it has been, I can't say, because when you are grieving, numbers mean little. All I can say is that every day, I wake up, hoping Rue will be there to greet me in the morning. Smiling like she used to, her dark skin soft in the dim room, her hair streaked in golden morning light. But she never is.

I stand in front of the two victors now, curious to see what they will say. What they will do to earn our forgiveness. All I know is that Rue would have tried as hard as she could to do something special for her former ally, if the situation was the other way around.

Mama and Dad, who has been quiet through out the extent of the games, look pained. They know it is not the fault of these Tributes that Rue isn't here with us, but it is hard not to be resentful. Katniss has been looking at us, and it is clear that she is reminded of my sister. Most people can see the resemblance.

I listen to the boy give a little speech. He then offers to each of our families- mine, and the other district eleven tribute's- a month's worth of winnings, every year, for the remainder of their lives. This is a great gift, my family will not be going hungry any time soon, but I can not help feeling almost betrayed. Why does the girl sit back, let her fellow victor do the talking? Rue would not have been so blunt. My sister died, and this girl, her supposed friend, has no words? Nothing to say about the girl who gave up her life? A life that had only just begun, too.

They have begun to finish the ceremony, when Katniss interrupts.

"Wait!" I look at her curiously. Maybe she is better than I thought.

"Wait, please." Then she begins to speak. Everyone in the audience is silent as they try to take in her words. She praises Thresh, the boy tribute, and then she turns to us.

"I feel as if I did know Rue, and she will always be with me. Everything beautiful brings her to mind." She sounds as if she is in pain. She looks like she really means it. "I see her in the yellow flowers that grow in the Meadow by my house. I see her in the mockingjays that sing in the trees." This brings a few tears down my cheeks. "But most of all, I see her in my sister, Prim." Prim, the small, blonde girl she had volunteered for at the reaping. "Thank you for your children." She says to us. Then, she turns to all of District Eleven. "And thank you all for the bread."

All is quiet as we absorb this. Then, I hear a melody being whistled, a melody I know so well, a melody that breaks my heart. It is my sisters little tune, the one she sang at work, the little four note song that the mockingjays came to remember so well.

This moves the audience, and I find myself, with the rest of my District, touching my hand to my lips, and extending it to Katniss.

When she and the other victor turn to leave, and I am certain that all eyes are on them, I repeat the motion. The second one is for my sister.

**So there you go! I just wanted to know Rue's family, so I found myself writing this! I know it is short, I didn't want to make it about her watching the whole games- why repeat what we already know, especially since she is only watching it on a tv screen. That is not very exciting. I also did not want to include the uprising at the end, because first, this is about rue, and second, I like my ending. I know I didn't elaborate to much on Rue's death, but again, I didn't feel like repeating what we have already read. **


End file.
